Course Planning & Upcoming Offerings

ANTH-2221 (3) Archeology of the Ancient Near East (with TBA) This course traces the development of Syrian Palestinian Archaeology, including a study of archaeological remains and sites from the Neolithic period (ca. 8500 B.C.) to the Byzantine period (ca. 330 A.D.) in the Levant, or countries bordering on the eastern Mediterranean Sea from Turkey to Egypt. Emphasis is placed on techniques of recovering ancient remains as well as the interpretation of artifacts, including those associated with Biblical text or documents from other ancient Near Eastern cultures.

ANTH-3136 (3) History of the Haudenosaunee Peoples (with K. Froman) This lecture/seminar course examines the history of the Haudenosaunee peoples in Eastern North America from precontact until the present. Emphasis is placed on the Six Nations Confederacy and the Wendat (Huron) peoples living in Canada and the United States. Topics include the origins of the Confederacy, the fur trade and Christian missions, Colonial Wars and the destruction of Huronia in 1649, the dispersal and migration of Haudenosaunee communities through the Great Lakes region, and the influence of the Canada-US border on contemporary Haudenosaunee communities. Cross-listed: HIST-3632 Restrictions: Students may not hold credit for this course and ANTH-3132 | HIST-3532 | HIST-3632.

ANTH-3204 (3) Issues in Prehistoric Archaeology (with M. MacKinnon) This course examines select issues in methodology and/or interpretation of the archaeological record of New World and/or Old World populations prior to the end of the last glacial period, circa 10,000 years ago. Content may vary from year to year and be thematic, regional, and/or chronological in nature. Information about each year's topic can be obtained from the instructor. Restrictions: Students

ANTH-3214 (3) Ancient Environments and Ecology (with M. MacKinnon) This course explores approaches, techniques, issues, and applications involved in the reconstruction of ancient environmental and ecological conditions and settings (predominantly for Greco-Roman antiquity). Topics addressed include the use of environmental archaeology (e.g., geoarchaeology, archaeobotany, palynology, zooarchaeology) in assessing paleoenvironments and paleoecology; natural resource and landscape exploitation in antiquity as determined from synthesis of literary, artistic, and archaeological datasets; climate and environmental change in antiquity; human management and mismanagement of environmental and ecological conditions in the past, including aspects of overhunting, deforestation, pollution and natural disasters. Additional in-depth work is required to receive credit at the 4000 level. Cross-listed: CLAS-3910(3).

ANTH-3308 (3) Human Evolution (with M. Roksandic) This course examines the evolution of our species, from the earliest hominins to the appearance of anatomically modern humans. Emphasis is on the material evidence for human evolution, and in particular the fossil record. Topics include the environmental context of human evolution, the anatomical features of bipedalism, and the debates surrounding the origins of Anatomically Modern Homo sapiens: Occasional laboratory sessions enhance and expand upon the material presented in lectures. Cross-listed: BANT-3308(3), ANTH/BANT-4308(3).

ANTH-3406 (3) Comparative Indo-European Linguistics and Mythology (with I. Roksandic) This course proposes an integrated overview of Indo-European tradition based on comparative linguistics, mythology, archaeology, social structure and religion. A survey of Indo- European languages, ancient and modern, including their relationships, writing systems, and sociolinguistic context, is followed by an examination of problems in analysis and reconstruction of Indo-European proto-language and proto- culture. The course further explores major Indo-European mythological and poetic traditions, and possible reconstruction of their common sources. It also examines belief systems, literary continuations of mythopoetic material, archeological evidence and historiographic records. Additional in-depth work is required to receive credit at the 4000 level. Cross-listed: ANTH-4406(3), LING-3406(3) and LING-4406(3).

ANTH-4102 (3) Problems in Cultural Anthropology: Culture and Sustainable Development (with E. Thrift) This seminar offers senior students a chance to investigate specific problems in cultural anthropology. Cultural anthropology encompasses all cultural and social aspects of the human experience. Potential topics include engaged anthropology which is anthropological work done from an advocacy perspective, applied anthropology done on a contract basis, community based research, virtual cultural anthropology which focuses on virtual communities and networks, Indigenous/decolonizing research with cultural anthropology, or feminist anthropology which focuses on a gendered analysis. Emphasis is on preparation and presentation of individual projects based on library, museum, or field experience. This course may be repeated for credit when the topic varies.

ANTH-4200 (3) Archeological Problems (with Y. Chinique de Armas) This seminar is designed to give senior students an opportunity to delve into specific problems in archaeology. Attention is paid to the presentation of individual projects involving library, laboratory, or field experience.

ANTH-2229 (3) Food, Diet and Dining in Antiquity (with M. MacKinnon) This course explores the techniques, issues, and controversies involved in reconstructing the role of food, diet and dining in Greek and Roman antiquity. Topics addressed include examination of lines of evidence (broadly encompassing ancient literary and textual evidence, depictions from art, and material remains from archaeological excavation); the economic basis for production, trade, transport and consumption of foodstuffs in antiquity; practicalities and limitations involved in cooking, preserving and preparing food stuffs; the social and philosophical context of eating and dining; the role of food in ancient religious and cult practices; medical approaches to food, diet and health in antiquity. Cross-listed: CLAS-2920(3).

ANTH-3210 (3) Archeological Laboratory Methods (with TBA) This course focuses on processing, analyzing, and interpreting archaeological materials. It examines a range of specialized techniques for studying lithic, ceramic, botanical, and geological evidence recovered at archaeological sites, and for establishing their temporal context. Additional in-depth work is required to receive credit at the 4000 level. Cross-listed: ANTH-4210(3). 

ANTH-3260 (3) Intermediate Classical Archeology (with M. MacKinnon) This course examines methodological, theoretical, and topical issues in Classical Archaeology, broadly, that is, in the archaeology of ancient Greek and Roman civilizations. Particular emphasis focuses upon directions within the discipline over the past decade. Topics discussed include the integration of archaeological, scientific, artistic, and textual evidence in the reconstruction of classical cultures; the assessment of ancient Greco-Roman ecological, social, ritual, and economic life on the basis of recovered artifacts and ecofacts; and the use of archaeological survey data to examine ancient settlement patterns. Cross-listed: CLAS-3260 (3)

ANTH-3408 (3) Sociolinguistics (with S. Tulloch) Sociolinguistics is the systematic study of language as a social phenomenon with a focus on the relationship between language and various social variables such as age, class, ethnicity and gender. This course examines language variations on regional (regional dialects), social (sociolects) and personal (styles and registers) level, as well as topics such as standard language, slang, jargon, politeness and taboo. It introduces students to the concepts of language ideologies, communities of practice, multilingualism, diglossia and code switching, and explores the problems of language in the contact and of language shift, revival and planning. Cross-listed: LING-3103(3)

ANTH-4429 (3) Indigenous Language Mentorship (with H. Souter) This course provides an opportunity for Indigenous language learners to work with proficient speakers in a mentoring/apprenticeship context to develop language proficiency and communicative competence. Students learn how to identify and build relationship with a mentor, how to develop goals and plans for one-on-one language learning, and how to evaluate progress. By the end of the course, students communicate at a proficiency level higher than that with which they began the course and are equipped for lifelong language learning beyond University. This course may be repeated for credit when the level or type of language varies.